So I was walking down the mall in City Stars, Cairo, and I stumble across the Samsung stall where they are advertising the Samsung Galaxy Note! I get all excited and say "My Phone!" out loud and everyone looks at me. Still, pretty cool though!
Samsung Mobiler
Samsung Mobiler
Saturday 24 December 2011
Saturday 17 December 2011
The Ultimate...
In celebration of their launch of the Galaxy Note, Samsung have made a series of videos entitled "The Ultimate (insert-adjective-here)". Here are a few of them below:
Galaxy Nexus Videos
A cute little video demonstrating the Face Unlock feature on the Nexus
Android Beam
Panorama mode for the Galaxy Nexus
A cool Advert on the Nexus
Friday 16 December 2011
Nexus Scratch Test - Madness!
First off, Im glad it wasnt me that did this! But - amazingly - the phone comes off without a scratch! Another reason why you should get the Galaxy Nexus is the phone to get!
(Thanks to fellow Mob!ler Dom Armstrong)
(Thanks to fellow Mob!ler Dom Armstrong)
£120 WORTH FREE MEDIA VOUCHERS FOR SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE OWNERS
A simply amazing deal! Anyone who has (wisely) invested in a Samsung Galaxy Note recently should definately check this out:
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£120 WORTH FREE MEDIA VOUCHERS FOR SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE OWNERS
Holiday Wishlist
Its Christmas time and everyone’s in the buying mood, so I thought I’d think out loud about what gadget I would like Samsung to give me next. To be honest, I probably don’t even need to mention it as Im sure you are all probably already know – yep it’s a certain Nexus Ice Cream Sandwich!
With the latest version of Google’s Android Software exclusively built for the phone, this gorgeous piece of equipment combines the latest in technology to offer the most practical phone yet. Here are some of the key new features which make this phone one of the best in the market:
Icecream Sandwich - Android 4.0
The latest Android system is enough of an addition to make the phone worthwhile! Its elegance and smoothness is a magnificent!
Face Recognition Unlocking
This has been one of the biggest things mentioned about the new nexus - the ability to unlock your phone purely from your face! I always love it when companies take a step forward in a new direction as this can only be good for innovation and technology. As well as this, you can now access key features like texts and call directly from the lock screen - a pretty useful addition!
Android Beam
The biggest new feature of this device is Android Beam - an ability to send items from phones to phone simply by touching them against one another. Though this exists in some ways through bluetooth apps, what is exciting about this is the possibility for the future such as a Mobile Oyster card or Google Wallet; two things already in development. Heres to an exciting future!
Data Usage Settings
Ever been in that situation where you phone bill nearly sends you bankrupt because of going over you allowance somehow? Well now the Nexus has introduced a feature which enable you to stop that happening again as you can set a limit on your total usage.
Apps Management
The Nexus has now improved on the Task managing service found on most android systems. With a simple swipe of the thumb (or finger if you prefer!) you can shut down apps instantly to save that oh-so-precious battery power!
My First Year as a Samsung Mob!ler
Its been an honour and a joy being a Samsung Mob!ler. From the moment I was selected till now, I have relished every moment of it and enjoyed nearly every "mission" given to me. To be honest, it still feels kinda surreal that I'm a Samsung Mob!ler... I still remember the moment I found out I was selected - it made my whole week! As the end of the year approaches, here's a look back at the best bits of my time as a Samsung Mob!ler:
The Beginning:
It all began in the Samsung HQ. It was a long drive down from Birmingham for my first evening with the Samsung (the hour long traffic jam didnt help!). To be honest, I still didnt believe it was all real until I actually got there where I was greeted by the Samsung team and enjoyed the company of my fellow mob!lers. That evening we were introduced to project and informed of the importance of the whole scheme. The best bit was when we were handed our first gadget to test - the Samsung Galaxy Pro. It was funny because I remember checking if it was ours to keep, to which I was smiled at and told "yes" :) What was particularly awesome was they had several competitions that evening to win extra prizes. One particular competition involved playing this drag race game on the mobile with the top two players winning either a bluetooth handset or Take That tickets. After a few attempts, I managed to get the second highest score just before the time was up and ended up winning the handset - the first time my gaming skills has ever earned me something!
The Beginning:
It all began in the Samsung HQ. It was a long drive down from Birmingham for my first evening with the Samsung (the hour long traffic jam didnt help!). To be honest, I still didnt believe it was all real until I actually got there where I was greeted by the Samsung team and enjoyed the company of my fellow mob!lers. That evening we were introduced to project and informed of the importance of the whole scheme. The best bit was when we were handed our first gadget to test - the Samsung Galaxy Pro. It was funny because I remember checking if it was ours to keep, to which I was smiled at and told "yes" :) What was particularly awesome was they had several competitions that evening to win extra prizes. One particular competition involved playing this drag race game on the mobile with the top two players winning either a bluetooth handset or Take That tickets. After a few attempts, I managed to get the second highest score just before the time was up and ended up winning the handset - the first time my gaming skills has ever earned me something!
(video of the launch)
The Gadgets
By far the most exciting thing about joining the Mob!ler project is receiving the latest Samsung products to test out and enjoy. To date, I have received (in order of when I got them) a Samsung Galaxy Pro, a Galaxy Tab 10.1 and a Galaxy Note. Each device has been a joy to play with as I got the chance to test out their capabilities through each of the missions they set us. Whether it was the phone’s camera to my drawing skills, each was put to the test to see how well it puts out. Here is an unboxing and review video I made - one for my Galaxy Tab and the other for my Galaxy Note
The Missions
For each gadget Samsung would send us, we would be asked to complete various different 'missions' for that device. Depending on the quality of what you made, these missions would be awarded with a certain number of points which can then be used to get new gadgets in their place. My missions varies greatly from designing a poster for your phone to indepth reviews on the product I had. One of the most enjoyable of these was the "Day in the life of" video we were asked to make. At the time it was Ramadan so I decided to show how the phone could be used in different ways throughout the typical day of ramadan.
Another I particularly enjoyed was my recent postcard designing where I took photos of various different locations Ive been to during my gap year in Egypt and designed postcards out of them. Heres a few for you to see:
The Events
As part of the project, Samsung would regularly invite us to attend launch events and other tech related events throughout the year. These were always really fancy do's with lots of money splashed out on the event. Most of these would take place somewhere in London, but for the lucky few who who were selected, you could be chosen to fly across the world to Germany or Korea for an event they held there. Our job would be anything from reporters in the event to just playing around with the gadgets. Sadly, I havent managed to make many of these at all because of my gap year here in Egypt, but I know I will definitely be making my way over to these when I'm Back in the UK!
So there you have, 2011 in a nutshell! Heres to a brilliant year! Hopefully 2012 has even more excitement packed in for us Mob!lers!
Monday 12 December 2011
Where to get your Galaxy Note from:
So, you read all my wonderful posts and now you really want a Galaxy Note? But, you want to make sure you can get it on the best deal possible? Well, heres a few tips:
1) Google Shopping
This is my #1 tip for anyone seeking to by anything.. yes ANYTHING! A quick search can quickly reveal all the different websites you can buy your things from and most of them will be pretty reliable too! Ive managed to save up to £100 (I kid you not!) just by doing a quick search before hand. So, if your looking to buy the handset new without any contract, its a must!
2) Get a Contract!
The vast majority of the time, getting a phone on contract will work out much better than if you buy the handset alone. Ofcourse it will be locked on one network, but who cares cause you have a line to go with it right? If you calculate how much you spend getting the phone and the contract, its usually around half the cost if you were to get the two seperately!
With that, I will always advise to get the contract online. As the internet has much less overhead costs for the firms, you are far more likely to get it cheaper than the equivalent deal in the shops!
Some excellent places to check out are:
- The home websites of all the big networks: Orange, Vodafone, T-mobile and O2, three. If you already have a contract with them, be sure to call them up and see how much you can get an upgrade for. The more you make it seem like you want to leave, the better the deal you get! If you wait until your contact is over and request a PAC code from them, you can end up getting amazing deals and discounts!
- HOWEVER, its definately worth checking out smalled companies like Tesco Mobile and Virgin. The first (Tesco Mobile) shares its network with O2 so its coverage is amazing, and they usually come at a much cheaper price and with amazing clubcard point perks!
- Carphone Warehouse, Phones4U and other such companies usually offer deals the networks wont give like cash-back offers and freebies that other firms cant. This is really good if its your first contract or if you want a free PS3 or somthing!
- Ebay is also a brilliant place to get good deals! Look for the Buy-Now sales people with very high positive feedback - they are ones you can rely on for technology stuff! Be sure to read the detail carefully to avoid any problems later on. Also, check out websites like www.fatfingers.com which search the whole site for posts with spelling mistakes - something which can often save you a lot of money!
- There are smaller, less-known companies out there too. Its up to you if you would like to take the risk, but remember - if something is too good to be true, it usually is!
So, theres some of my shopping experience! Let me know if you have any tips and tricks and be sure to post up any good deals you find on here!
Postcards - Galaxy Note
The Galaxy Note is a wonderful device to take, edit, and share photographs with friends and family. Over the past three months I have been out here in Cairo as part of my gap year. Here are some of the postcards taken over my stay here in Egypt!
Enjoy, and be sure to comment and share!
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The moment I bid my parents farewell at the airport for the beginning of my 7 month trip
Mokattam - up in the mountains over looking the whole of Cairo. In the far distance you can even make out the Pyramids
The graves of one of the most famous men of Cairo - Al-'Iz Ibn Abd As-Sallam - A man who stoof up against the colonial french powers ruling his country at the time.
Horse riding in front of the 9 Pyramids, a spot where great men like Malcolm X once stood
A wonderful group of Thai brothers after Eid prayer. After agreeing to take their photo for them, they insisted I joined in for the next one with them all!
Tahrir Square, November 2011. A part of the people's revolution
Invited over to a friends house for some stuffed pigeon - Yum!
One of the great Scholars of Yemen is in Town speaking live on MBC1 - And I manage to get front row seats!
Sunset on a boat cruise along the Nile.
Samsung Galaxy Note - Review
The Samsung Galaxy Note is a piece of genious! Genuinely enjoyed using it so far as it is definately one of the most advanced devices out in the market todate
Below is an indepth review of the phone with all the benefits and drawbacks of the device!
Below is an indepth review of the phone with all the benefits and drawbacks of the device!
Thursday 8 December 2011
Samsung Galaxy Note Unboxing
So - Ive finally got my hands on the Samsung Galaxy Note and Im really excited about it! Heres a quick teaser of the unboxing of this magnificent device! A full review to come soon!
Portable Gaming - Redefined!
Gaming has just taken a giant leap forward! As a kid I would always dream of being able to take my console around with me so that I can play anywhere I go. Gameboys and PSPs were cool, but they were never quite the same as playing your N64 or Xbox 360. Even the new PS Vita and Nintendo 3DS are a generation behind their comparative consoles currently out in the market...
But now a solution appears to have been found! Onlive has long been on the radar as having great potential, but now it has made what I believe to be its most significant breakthrough yet! Utilizing the advanced specs of the new tablets out on the market, OnLive will soon be releasing its Apple and Android apps compatible with most tablets and smartphones out in the market. The idea is similar to their previous model - games can be played entirely through an internet connection with all the processing being done by the OnLive systems on the other end. The internet connection simply sends the picture over to you when its done!
So.. why is this significant? With the already proven portability and popularity of tablets, we may have finally found a way to carry round our favourite consoles with us! Moreover, with 3G and 4G internet speeds being around or above 1MB speed, this can truely be more portable than we can imagine and accessible for nearly anywhere youd need it to be! Now you can finally play Batman: Arkham City or LS Noire with graphics and gameplay like the real thing (and not some compromised minuture version!)
Below is a video review by IGN on the latest kit.. definitely check it out and download the app!
Tuesday 6 December 2011
10 cent app store!
Today, Google is celebrating its 10 billionth - yes thats 10,000,000,000 - app download! In celebration of this momentous occasion, they have put up 10 premium apps for sale for only 10 cents for 10 days!
Hurry and download them before the offer ends!
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By Phil Nickinson 06 Dec 2011 11:16 am
Hurry and download them before the offer ends!
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Google's 10-cent app sale part of 10 billion downloads promo
By Phil Nickinson 06 Dec 2011 11:16 am
Looks like Google's taken the lid off of this 10-cent app thing. The Android Market's now promoting 10 days of offers -- top premium apps -- 10 cents per app. Dive into that Market page and you see the "10 billion promo" page. That 10 billion's got to refer to app downloads -- a milestone if we've ever heard one.
Here are the 10 apps on the 10-cent promotion for the next 10 days:
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